How to Hire A-Players: Finding the Top People for ... - GIT home page

184 How to Hire A-Players
A-Player Principle: New employees can have all the
right skills yet flounder because they don’t fit well with your
corporate culture. Assessment tools can help you to spot
cultural misfits during the hiring process.
Are People Driven to Achieve?
The president of a payroll company contacted me recently with a
request to evaluate one of his salespeople. The results came back
almost picture perfect. You could have framed this profile and used
it as an example of a strong outside sales rep. However, there was
one major hole. This person was totally unmotivated to achieve.
The assessments revealed that he was frustrated with his job, his
goals for the future were unclear, and he had a negative attitude.
His lack of motivation showed up in his sales activity. He focused
too much on analysis and planning and neglected the need to prospect
for new clients.
The president immediately took these results and challenged the
salesperson with them. The jury is still out on whether the salesperson
is going to make it. However, there’s a lesson to be learned
here before you hire a new salesperson or any other employee:
Insight into people’s motivation and drive is invaluable. Someone
with terrific skills but no drive to achieve is not going to be an Aplayer.
The ideal candidate for any position possesses both past
accomplishments and the motivation to achieve in the future. The
lack of either one of these key factors is a yellow flag that must be
addressed in the interview process.
The Difference between Drive
and Self-Esteem
In my experience, the best job candidates often have good selfesteem,
but they are always driven to achieve. Despite their seeming
similarities, these are two very different qualities. A top salesperson